


a lonely sweet potato

by julyseok



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Grocery Store, M/M, bare minimum fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-23 02:42:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13180680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/julyseok/pseuds/julyseok
Summary: It's perfectly normal to spend two hours at the grocery store. In fact, isn't grocery stores made for sad and lonely people? According to Minhyun, it definitely is.





	a lonely sweet potato

**Author's Note:**

> I was inspired by Sabrina Benaim's poetry The Loneliest Sweet Potato; check it out here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNqmK3iU59E 
> 
> (Also inspired by my own lonely Christmas but hey, no one knows)
> 
> Twitter: @btsvernons

Minhyun tugs his coat a little tighter, fitting both his palms into the warm pockets where the heat packet is as he walks pass the opened automatic doors of the grocery store.

He picks up an empty basket. A couple of girls walk pass him and Minhyun tries to orient himself, hopes to himself that he doesn’t look as bad as he feels. The trip to the grocery store was meant to organize his jumbled emotions but he forgot to check through the mirror before leaving the house and it’s causing more stress, as someone who is highly particular about tiny details like these, he’s thankful if his appearance was at least public-friendly. He doesn’t know why he’s chosen the rural store as a getaway. The vegetables look fresh though, with ripe-looking tomatoes and striking yellow bananas. Minhyun almost feels somewhat better as he approaches the produce department, already reaching out to grab them.

Minhyun dwells on his recent thoughts as he inspects the greens. The store is isolated, with faint music playing through the speaker and the constant advertisement from the counter. Suddenly he’s reminded of the reason he’s at the grocery store again, and immediately feels hollow. 

It’s Christmas. And Minhyun is _lonely_.

Sure, relationships are a social construct. Minhyun is never one to solely depend his happiness and security on a partner, he’s well independent on his own. He drives on his own on most days, doesn't get too clingy on someone to fetch him food.

But.

He’s spent the past two Christmas and New Years with his ex-boyfriend, whom he broken up with half a year ago. Minhyun was upset of course, traces of his relationships slowly disappearing from his home, from the slightly messy kitchen table top to the unmade bed on one side. He learnt to get over the hurt and move on with time, but festive seasons always make it a little harder to tackle because he’s been so used to having someone to kiss under the mistletoe and bringing them home to his parents’.

He heaves a sigh, dropping an apple back down after nit-picking it for five minutes and makes his way to the frozen department.

 _Only sad people can stay here for two hours_ , Minhyun thinks to himself wryly. He picks up a tub of frozen yogurt, studies the expiry date, dropping it into his basket. _And only I enjoy freezing myself in this already freezing weather._

He wonders for a while at the dairy section. Staring at the boxes of strawberry milk reminds Minhyun of his friend Jaehwan, who is 21 years of age but is still child-like. Jaehwan had apologized to Minhyun when he asked the younger if he wanted to celebrate the holidays together, but apparently he already made plans with his boyfriend Sungwoon, who is also one of Minhyun’s friends and they seemed so apologetic about abandoning Minhyun that _Minhyun_ felt guilty.

The bottom of the carbon strawberry milk box hits the plastic basket.

Minhyun continues walking mindlessly, wrapping his head in self-pity, wallowing himself in his thoughts. Minhyun is loved by many, he realizes. He has a handful of friends, most of them have been close with Minhyun since high school. All of them love Minhyun as much as he loves them but none of them are in love with Minhyun. In fact, no one is.

By admitting this, it makes a flood of emotions bubble up in Minhyun’s throat as his eyes begin to water. He rubs his runny nose with the back of of his hand, feeling slightly stupid that he’s breaking down in a grocery store when he could have stayed at home and cry instead. The frozen department is as cold as ever, the comfort food he's picking out makes him seem even lonelier, and the store is still empty; Minhyun can start tap-dancing whilst sobbing and no one would know. Even if someone were to find out, everyone knows it's perfectly acceptable to be lingering around far too long in a grocery store especially when you're lonely and sad. Which is the reason why no one else is at the grocery store, because Minhyun is the only one lonely on Christmas.

 _I’m a lonely potato._ Minhyun thinks, not realizing he said it out aloud, fingers trailing the bags of frozen sausages.

“At least you’re a sweet potato.” A voice startles Minhyun, causing him to yelp in surprise and turn behind. He stares face to face with another man who is, surprisingly, wearing a concerned expression with one brow raised pensively. “You okay, mate?”

Minhyun is positive there’s still snot at the bottom of his nose and his eyes are sagged from the past two nights crying and face bloated from consuming too much ice cream and too little water. It’s not like he could chirp out a _oh yeah, i’m just dandy, can’t wait to go home for christmas!_ so he shrugs nonchalantly, basket full of items jostling in his hands as he does so. “You tell me.”

The man purses his lips in a straight line. “Honestly, you look like you’ve been through the snowstorm and back.” He points out bluntly. Minhyun feels embarrassed, he knows he looks bad, and it’s pretty much a defeat since he easily considers himself a good looking guy on average days. “The red nose makes you look cute though”, the man continues before Minhyun could turn away and cash out. He even adds a cheeky wink at the end, “Like a personal snowman? The kind you would keep in your bedroom to snuggle.”

Minhyun blinks blearily, borderline confused. “Snowmans have carrot noses.” Then he freezes. “Wait, are you- are you flirting with me?”

It’s the man’s turn to shrug, but there’s tints of pink dusting on the bridge of his nose quickly. “Some have a heterosexual agenda so suit yourself with whatever you consider this is.”

The man busies himself by choosing a box of chicken fingers from the refrigerator, but every now and then he still glances back at Minhyun which makes the latter breathe out a laugh for the first time during the season. 

“How’s preparation going?” Minhyun asks quietly. They walk to the condiment aisle together and Minhyun notices the slight height difference. The stranger lets out a dissatisfied click of his tongue at the question, “Yeah no, I’m just grocery shopping like any other mundane day. Christmas is overrated, don’t you think?”

“It’s supposed to be special, I guess.” Minhyun says simply, a lump rising in his throat. Minhyun would know a lot about it. 

“Makes useless expectations out of people”, the man muses wistfully. He grabs a cereal box, rattles it for a moment before dropping in his trolley. “If it takes one day marked yellow on the calendar to make you want to to stay at home or tell your partner you love them, it’s just an insult to Christmas, if you ask me.”

Minhyun stops in his tracks and turns to face the man. “You seem like a pessimist”, he states.

“Just a realist”, the man replies with a smile. He has a small sharp canine tooth at the side and three constellation moles accompanying his dimple at the bottom of his cheek. He extends his palm, “I usually go by the name of Seongwoo though.”

“Minhyun”, the taller male replies, shaking the hand in return. Seongwoo rolls the name off his tongue testing the syllabus and grins, “Pretty name like you.”

“Do you flirt with everyone you stumble at the grocery store?” Minhyun chuckles. He grabs an abandoned trolley at the aisle when the basket gets too heavy, and unloads everything to the cart. It’s going to be a longer trip than he expects.

“Just the one that sobs at the frozen aisle.” Seongwoo’s dimple reappaears, though the teasing comes with caution. “Seriously though, are you fine? You don’t seem like the kind of person to be having a meltdown in public areas.”

“Then what kind of person do I seem like?” 

Seongwoo throws in a box of local chocolate cereal for Minhyun, murmuring a soft _this one tastes good, you’ll like it_. He hums in the air for a while behind his trolley before responding, “You seem like someone who would have a partner on an overrated-yet-beautiful holiday like this. Someone to roll this trolley next with." He eyes the content of Minhyun's cart. "And definitely splurging on steak instead of microwaved food.”

They’re both stationed at the deli department. Minhyun stares at Seongwoo, wondering if this guy is a mind-reader of some sort. His hands do ache to to hold someone in this cold, dreary weather. He does want to buy meat to cook for two person.

“Things just don’t go the way we want it to be sometimes.” Minhyun finally settles on a reply. Seongwoo raises a thick eyebrow, interested. “Broke up in summer”, Minhyun elaborates.

“Ah.” Seongwoo nods. He reaches for a sealed packet of cheese. “Sorry about that.”

Minhyun cracks a smile. “Thought you’d be giving me a speech about how we don’t need men in our lives.”

Seongwoo gives a sour look. “Contrary to popular belief, I’m actually not against relationships, Minhyun.”

They end up spending half an hour more in the store, with Minhyun making a third round at the vegetable aisle and scrutinizing its freshness. He finally decides on some leaks, pumpkin and broccolis, planning to make himself some comfort, warm soup to make himself feel better in the cold. Seongwoo’s trolley is mostly filled with crackers and a couple of red wine bottles. Minhyun hides a smile; the difference in their personality traits is far too obvious.

Seongwoo makes some jokes along the way with the minimum time they have left and Minhyun feels less sad when he pays for his items at the cashier. The snow is descending harsher in the evening when they make it out of the store and Minhyun is glad he took the bus instead of driving on his own. Seongwoo, however, already has his car keys in his hands. “Need me to drop you off?”

“Ah, it’s alright.” Minhyun says, “I live on the other side of the town.”

“We’ve known each other for two hours Minhyun, we’re practically _best friends_.” 

Minhyun dips his head down in a short laugh, the latter jutting his lower lip out at his offer being turned down. “Are you always this straight-forward?”

“Only to people who make my heart flutter.” Seongwoo replies shamelessly, his heart speeding up at the sight of the wind blowing Minhyun’s hair, clearing his face and eyes in the process. He looks brighter compared to when in the grocery store. Minhyun lets out a breathy chuckle, and the tip of his ears turn red. Saying that Minhyun is cute or handsome is downright an understatement, the man is _gorgeous_ , despite the clear lack of sleep buried in the dark circles around his eyes and enthusiasm hollow in the tone of his voice. 

Minhyun checks his wristwatch. “I’ll get going, my bus is coming in five minutes.” Seongwoo feels the need to say more but his mouth is unable to form any coherent words. “It was nice grocery shopping with you.” Minhyun tells him, changing the weight of the plastic bags from one hand to another. “It really took my mind off things. Thanks, Seongwoo. Merry Christmas.” 

“You too. And hey, if you pretend not to know me if we meet each other on the streets I will call you out.” He jokes lightly.

Minhyun laughs, and it’s the ugly, window-wiping shriek that Seongwoo has been looking for for the past two hours. He wants to hear more of it, but the snow is building up on the road as time ticks by and Minhyun is already waving goodbye.

Minhyun walks like an animation character amidst the white crunches of snow, taking big steps in his boots. Seongwoo waits until he is out of his sight before he warms up his car, the old engine taking a few seconds to revive, and drives back to his empty apartment.

Somehow, Seongwoo thinks he’d be able to grow a liking towards Minhyun if they had more time.

  
  
  
  
  


2018 rolls by quickly. The office is noisy as ever, with an additional handful of new staffs. Minhyun got promoted somewhere in February and things seem to be falling in place just right for the first time.

He goes out on dates occasionally, of course, though it hardly works out. Fortunately for Minhyun, it doesn't end up with his face getting splashed by wine after the dinner. A certain puppy-looking Daniel who is just a year younger turns out to be a better friend than a lover after going out with him to dinner twice, and Minhyun keeps it to that. Jaehwan and Sungwoon still sets him up for dates and he goes for them just to please his friends, but after several tries (and failures), they eventually give up and drag him along as a third-wheeler instead.

It wasn’t until September when autumn arrives in falling maple leaves that Minhyun stumbles upon Seongwoo again, in the very same grocery store.

Not looking at who is approaching, Seongwoo whines loudly when the both of them knocked hands in the process of reaching for the same last box of ginger tea and Minhyun is almost taken aback by an adult whining. That is, until he sees the familiar constellation moles and crinkles by the eyes that he recognizes it is Seongwoo.

“Seongwoo.” Minhyun breathes out. The man has glasses resting on the bridge of his nose this time and dressed in a buttoned up shirt, making him look smarter. He turns his head when Minhyun calls him and parts his lips in surprise, “Lonely potato?”

The groan that unintentionally passes through Minhyun’s lips makes Seongwoo cackle. “That is so last year”, Minhyun complains, albeit the corners of his lips lift up upon seeing Seongwoo losing himself at something barely funny. 

“I only met you last year.” Seongwoo smiles, voice hoarse, probably coming down from a cold. Minhyun immediately frowns and pushes the ginger tea to his chest, “Take it. You need it more than I do.”

“You’re still as charming as I remember.” Seongwoo accepts the offer, fingers lingering on Minhyun’s hand for a few seconds before letting go.

“Definitely swept you off your feet with my snot.”

Seongwoo shrugs, pushing his trolley cart forward. “Told you it was cute.” 

They share Seongwoo’s trolley and make a conversation in seafood department. They have coffee after that, it was Seongwoo’s treat, just to spend a little more time with Minhyun compared to before. Seongwoo is still a playful flirt, actually gasping when Minhyun steps out from the grocery store and the sunlight hits his face. “Goddamn”, Seongwoo mutters, “You’re more good looking than before.” Minhyun finds himself turning red at the compliment, which, okay. Really flatters him because Seongwoo is not a bad-looking guy. Not bad at all.

Seongwoo walks Minhyun to the bus station this time. It’s funny how they barely know each other yet the familiarity seeps in like it was a routine, making the conversation flow easily. Seongwoo plucks his courage and asks, “Don’t mind me cutting short, but are you single, Minhyun?”

Minhyun flushes, seeing where the conversation is heading to. “Have been since the last time I met you.”

Seongwoo flashes a smile so bright, the happy crinkles by his eyes make him look younger than he actually is. “Good. Can I kiss you before you leave and get your number this time? You drove me crazy for half a year. You don’t even _have_ Facebook, I checked.”

Minhyun laughs and leans closer. His intentions are nothing short of teasing. “Are you always this straight-forward, Seongwoo?”

“Just on people that I already put my mind on.” He rests his forehead on Minhyun’s, eyeing down on his lips. “So what do you say, Minhyun?”

Minhyun sucks his bottom lip, humming in deep thought. It looks inviting by how Minhyun nuzzles on the hand that Seongwoo is cupping his cheek with, and Seongwoo is already falling for it by leaning forward, before Minhyun pulls away with a soft chuckle. Seongwoo is quick to protest.

“I’ll give you my number.” He pulls the sleek gadget from the front of Seongwoo’s jean pocket, keying in the digits. Handing back the phone, “Here you go, you big baby.”

“Ah yes, the pet names have begun. What would you like, Minhyun? Babe? Honey? Sweet lemon pie? Cute little potato cozily wrapped in its jacket?” Seongwoo teases, heart leaping in miles.

Minhyun groans in his hands. “Don’t make me regret this.”

Seongwoo pries the fingers from his face, and intertwines with his instead. A sudden rush of affection and belongingness fill Minhyun’s heart and he feels giddy, to be honest, if not a little excited to keep seeing Seongwoo over and over again.

Seongwoo leaves a small peck on Minhyun’s cheek when the bus arrives at their stop, making the taller male splutter nonsense. Seongwoo laughs, “I’ll call you tonight. _Baby_.”

Minhyun shakes his head with an adoring smile. “You sweet talker.” He waves goodbye from the window in the bus, until the vehicle drives away.

And if there’s a growing fondness in Minhyun’s heart that he seem to be missing in nearly two years, he doesn’t say.

**Author's Note:**

> i can't believe i fell for onghwang i am SO gullible. can't believe i got dragged into the wanna one fandom too when i know too well that i won't have time to keep up when the new semester starts lmao. my biases are guanlin, ong and minhyun though, who are yours?
> 
> thanks for reading, friends! hope you're all having a good holiday ♡


End file.
